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Protective Effects of Apigenin on the Brain Transcriptome with Aging in Mice

ABSTRACT: Age is the primary risk factor for many chronic diseases and cognitive decline during brain aging may increase dementia risk. Hallmarks of brain aging including neuronal dysfunction and glial contribute to reduced cognitive function, and there is a persistent lack of effective treatments. Bioactive plant compounds called “nutraceuticals” can target age-related cellular processes and may protect cognitive function. Apigenin is a flavone found in plants such as chamomile and can inhibit hallmarks of aging such as cellular senescence, mitochondrial dysfunction, and impaired proteostasis. However, the underlying mechanisms of apigenin in the brain are not fully understood. Here, we characterized brain transcriptome changes in young and old mice given apigenin in drinking water and examined potential mechanisms in human astrocytes. Consistent with previous studies, we observed improved novel object recognition in old mice treated with apigenin versus old controls. Transcriptome analyses in old controls found differentially expressed genes related to immune responses, inflammation, and cytokine regulation versus young. Fewer differences were observed in old apigenin-treated versus old controls, but these changes were related to development, behavior, and antiviral responses. The majority of upregulated genes in old mice were downregulated with apigenin treatment and associated with immune responses. Similarly, the genes that were reduced with aging, but increased in old apigenin-treated mice were related to pathways important for neurological function/disease, cellular maintenance, and homeostatic signaling. We also found that glial cells drove the majority of the transcriptome differences with aging and apigenin-treatment. To explore the mechanism of action for apigenin in glial cells, we treated replicatively aged astrocytes with apigenin and observed reduced markers of inflammation and cellular senescence. Collectively, our data support the role of apigenin as a protector of cognitive and neuronal function protectant through the suppression of neuroinflammatory genes and proteins and may be especially important in non-neuronal cells.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE232201 | GEO | 2024/02/14

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:The decline of cognitive function is a feature of normal human aging and is exacerbated in AlzheimerM-bM-^@M-^Ys disease (AD). DNA repair declines in brain cells during normal aging and even more so in AD. Here we show that experimental reduction in levels of the base excision repair enzyme, DNA polymerase M-NM-2 (Polb) renders neurons vulnerable to age-related dysfunction and degeneration in a mouse model of AD. Whereas 3xTgAD mice exhibit age-related extracellular amyloid b-peptide (Ab) accumulation and cognitive deficits, but no neuronal death, 3xTg/Polb+/- mice accumulates intracellular Ab and neurons die in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. The DNA repair-deficient 3xTgAD mice exhibited increased DNA strand breaks and apoptotic caspase activation with loss of hippocampal volume, and impaired synaptic plasticity and memory retention. Molecular profiling revealed remarkable similarities in gene expression alterations in brain cells of AD patients and 3xTgAD/Polb+/- mice including multiple abnormalities suggestive of impaired cellular bioenergetics. Our findings demonstrate that a modest decrement in oxidative DNA damage processing is sufficient to render neurons vulnerable to AD-related pathogenic molecular and cellular alterations that result in the dysfunction and death of neurons, and associated cognitive deficits. 4 mouse strains were used in these experiments, the 3xTgAD and Pol M-NM-2 (+/-) mice were bred at the National Institute on Aging (Baltimore, Maryland). The original line 3xTgAD line was generated as described previously (Oddo, et. al 2003) and possess APPswe, PS1M146V, and tauP301L mutations. DNA polymerase beta heterozygous mice, Pol M-NM-2 (+/-), were crossed with the 3xTgAD mice to generate a 3xTgAD/Pol M-NM-2 (+/-) mouse. The Wt strain is C57Bl/6. At 20 months of age these mice were euthanized by cervical dislocation, the brain removed from the skull and dissected into regions of interest, the prefrontal cortex was used for the microarray studies.

Project description:A detailed knowledge of the mechanisms underlying brain aging is fundamental to understand its functional decline and the baseline upon which brain pathologies superimpose. Endogenous protective mechanisms must contribute to the adaptability and plasticity still present in the healthy aged brain. Apolipoprotein D (ApoD) is one of the few genes with a consistent and evolutionarily conserved up-regulation in the aged brain. ApoD protecting roles upon stress or injury are well known, but a study of the effects of ApoD expression in the normal aging process is still missing. Using an ApoD-knockout mouse we analyze the effects of ApoD on factors contributing to the functional maintenance of the aged brain. We focused our cellular and molecular analyses in cortex and hippocampus at an age representing the onset of senescence where mortality risks are below 25%, avoiding bias towards long-lived animals. Lack of ApoD causes a prematurely aged brain without altering lifespan. Age-dependent hyperkinesia and memory deficits are accompanied by differential molecular effects in cortex and hippocampus. Transcriptome analyses reveal distinct effects of ApoD loss on the molecular age-dependent patterns of cortex and hippocampus, with different cell-type contributions to age-regulated gene expression. Markers of glial reactivity, proteostasis, and oxidative and inflammatory damage reveal early signs of aging and enhanced brain deterioration in the ApoD-knockout brain. The lack of ApoD results in an age-enhanced significant reduction in neuronal calcium-dependent functionality markers and signs of early reduction of neuronal numbers in the cortex, thus impinging upon parameters clearly differentiating neurodegenerative conditions from healthy brain aging. Our data support the hypothesis that the physiological increased brain expression of ApoD represents a homeostatic anti-aging mechanism. The brain cortex and hippocampus of young and aged mice of wild-type and ApoD-KO genotypes were used for RNA extraction and hybridization on Affymetrix microarrays. We aim at identifying distinct effects of ApoD loss on the molecular age-dependent patterns of cortex and hippocampus.

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Protective Effects of Apigenin on the Brain Transcriptome with Aging in Mice

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